When Two Worlds Meet
by Laufeyson'sWife
Summary: Commander Shepard has been ordered to test out a new relay found by the council after the Reaper War. She and her team are quickly taken to a land they've never seen before, facing a team of trained warriors lead by a woman calling herself a Grey Warden. Oneshot of casual banter between squadmates and the two leaders.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! (:**

**Thanks for coming to check out my little Dragon Age-Mass Effect crossover. I imagine this takes place after the Reaper war, for Shepard and before the Blight is ended for the Warden. I am in no way shape or form worried about accuracy of who would be on the Normandy together during whichever time frame. This is purely for fun and to get it out of my head. Don't mind the technicalities.**

**Please feel free to rate, review, and even PM me if you have anything you wish to say.**

**Thanks!**

* * *

It was a strange day in Thedas, the weather quickly changing as something shifted through the atmosphere. It wasn't hard to feel that something was different when it happened. The Warden felt it immediately. She knew her companions felt it too, hearing a loud, foreign noise whooshing behind them before the ground shook slightly. She drew her swords, the rest of her followers doing the same as they stared in the direction of the disturbance. Her large mabari hound growled loudly, taking it's stance in front of her as the trees rustled. She thought maybe darkspawn were about to attack their camp, but when they emerged, a thousand thoughts quickly flew to her mind as she took in the sight of them.

Shepard had been having a long day as it was before the Council ordered her team to fly through the old, non-functional relay that had recently been brought online. Her team was up for it, all of them quite curious as to what they'd find. She was taken by surprise to see humans on the other side of the trees, though her surprise was quickly changed to caution as she noticed all of them armed with weapons as they faced each other. Her team quickly drew their own weapons, all of them ready to fight the less equipped group in front of them. Shepard pointed her gun at the woman who stood in front of the group, stepping forward hesitantly from her team.

The Warden lifted her sword slightly, giving a warning stance as her hound let out a single bark.

"Who are you?" she asked, glancing around at the people who followed the red-haired woman.  
"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy-"  
"What?"

Shepard glanced at the woman's friends before noticing the differences between them. There were more than just humans among them, causing wonder to work it's way into Shepard's mind.

"My name is Shepard." she repeated.  
"Where did you come from?" the Warden asked in irritation.  
"The mass relay brought us to your planet. What is this place called?"  
"This place?" the Warden repeated with a small scoff. "You are in Ferelden."

Shepard glanced back to her squad, all of their expressions reflecting her own confusion. She looked back to the woman, shaking her head.

"I've never heard of that region of our galaxy."  
"What do you want from us?"  
"We want nothing but information about the area behind that relay."  
"What are you people?" the Warden asked, looking to the aliens that followed the human.

Shepard looked back at her team once again, giving the woman a small tilt of the head.

"You don't have other species on your planet?"  
"Species? Our races are different, but we have none of those that follow you."

Shepard again glanced back at her team, then to the other's, putting her hands up before holstering her gun.

"We mean you no harm."  
"We do not wish to fight you either." the Warden replied, lowering her swords to place them on her back. Both of their squads lowered their weapons, allowing the two leaders to step closer to each other. "I am Elizabeth, of the Grey Wardens."

She put her hand out to shake Shepard's, who did so with a small smile.

"I can see you all have kept to some old fashioned weapons and armor." she said, looking at the team behind the Warden.  
"We have the best weapons and armor." Elizabeth replied, looking at the lights on Shepard's suit. "Yours is a kind I've never seen before."

The Warden watched as one of the aliens stepped forward, looking down at the commander.

"We have to be in a different era, Shepard, there's no way they've discovered the mass relays yet." he said.  
"Garrus is right, commander." a woman agreed, stepping forward next. "They fight with swords."  
"As if Cerberus never brought swords to a gun fight." the man replied with a sarcastic tone.

The woman shook her head at him, both of them looking to Shepard.

"What year is it?" she asked, not looking away from the Warden as her companions spoke to her.  
"It is the year twenty thirty-four in the Dragon Age."

Shepard stared at the woman before looking back to her male companion.

"Definitely a different era."  
"Different era?" the Warden questioned.

Shepard stepped closer to her, nodding.

"We come from the year twenty eighty-eight."

The Warden looked back at her companions, a human man shaking his head at her.

"This is going to be fun to sort out, I can tell."

Shepard let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead.

"Alright. We're going to stay for the night." she said, turning to her team. "We'll do some scouting tomorrow and figure out how to get back."  
"You may stay here at our camp for the evening." Elizabeth told her.

Shepard gave her a nod, putting her hands on her hips.

"Thanks." she replied, looking to the opposing squad. "We'll keep to ourselves."  
"My people won't fight yours, so long as yours aren't seeking one."  
"Mine are under control."

The Warden's people allowed Shepard and her squad to get as comfortable as they could on the ground. Elizabeth could tell they weren't used to making camp at night, as the commander so boldly kept herself awake to get a feel for her surroundings. Elizabeth told her companions to mind their own business for the night, knowing they were all alert to the new people around them. After the two teams finally got to sleep, Elizabeth joined Shepard as she sat by the fire where her team slept.

"If there is anything I can do for you to help get you on track, let me know."  
"Thanks." Shepard replied, looking over at her. "You have high authority over these people then?"  
"I do." Elizabeth nodded. "I am a Grey Warden."  
"What is that?"  
"We fight the darkspawn, and protect the land from the Blight. Right now the order is… Almost extinct. We fight though and we can't give up."  
"Blight?"  
"The darkspawn threaten the land. They try to overrun it, and it's our job to stop them."  
"Darkspawn?"  
"They are tainted creatures."  
"All of your people are Grey Wardens then?"  
"No. Just Alistair and myself."  
"Who gives you that authority?"

Elizabeth faltered, looking at the flames of the fire in silence for a moment. She cleared her throat after a while, looking back over to the Commander.

"I was conscripted by a man called Duncan. He was also a Grey Warden."  
"Grey Wardens promote others to be a Grey Warden?"  
"Yes. They have the right to invoke conscription. No one can refuse this."  
"You must be a talented soldier."  
"I am of noble blood." she replied, looking back to the fire. "My family was… betrayed. They were killed. Duncan took me with him to join up after I fought my way from the attack on my home. It was… A hard time."  
"I'm sorry." Shepard replied, feeling sympathy for the woman. "It's not easy to lose family."  
"You've lost family too then?"

Shepard let out a sigh before nodding.

"My family was killed by slavers."  
"You aren't an elf though. Your place enslaves humans as well?"  
"We don't have elves… Most of our slaves are quarians. Anyways, yes. Humans are slaves in some places."  
"This is news to me."  
"What are elves?" Shepard asked.  
"Zevran is an elf." Elizabeth said, nodding towards her sleeping companions. "They have pointed ears. Sometimes they have face paintings too."  
"What other races are there?"  
"There are humans, elves and dwarves. All of them come from different origins. Humans can be peasants or nobles. Elves come from the cities, or they can be found in the forests. Those are Dalish. Both humans and elves can be mages. Dwarves are very complicated. There is a caste system. Nobles, casteless, and everything in between. Oghren is a dwarf."  
"We have something similar. They're called volus, but they wear body suits."  
"Volus." Elizabeth repeated, letting the new word roll off her tongue before looking back to the Commander. "What other races do you have?"  
"Oh boy…" Shepard said with a sigh, shifting slightly. "We have a lot. There's humans, turians, quarians, krogan, volus, elcor, vorcha, batarians, asari, salarians, geth, hanar, yahgs, and the long-extinct protheans, but that's a long story…"  
"You have a wide variety of life forms."  
"It's a big galaxy."

Elizabeth looked over to Shepard's squad, her curiosity getting the better of her as she pointed to them.

"What is that one?" Shepard smiled, helping her understand the different species among her friends. Elizabeth found it hard to keep up with all of the different names but figured she'd learn in time. "Why do you lead them?"  
"I'm their Commander."  
"We have those in our armies."  
"I'm in the military, which is kind of like an army."  
"And Commanders lead teams such as this?"  
"Well, no. Most humans lead other humans. I'm a council spectre."  
"A what?"

Shepard let out another sigh, realizing how much she had to explain to get the woman up to speed on their galaxy.

"The council is made up of a turian, an asari, and a salarian. They are in charge of all council space."  
"Kind of like Kings and Queens?"  
"In a way, but they aren't married. They work together to keep the peace, like friends I guess."  
"That is strange, but continue."  
"They pick people, like soldiers, to do work for them, or protect them. They're called spectres. Special Tactics and Reconnaissance." Shepard laughed as the Warden knitted her eyebrows, mouthing the words she'd spit out. "It's ok. Everyone says spectre anyways."  
"Spectre." she said with a nod. "You have high authority then?"  
"Spectres have the highest authority in the galaxy, other than the council. They act outside of the law if necessary."  
"That seems like a very dangerous privilege."  
"That's why the council is very cautious on who they choose."  
"Good job for getting that promotion then." Shepard smiled, both of them looking at the fire again, silence taking over for a few moments before the Warden looked at her. "We share similarities."  
"We do." Shepard said with a nod.  
"I wonder if you'd survive the Joining."  
"Joining?"  
"It is what makes us Grey Wardens."  
"Like a test?"  
"Grey Wardens fight the darkspawn because we can sense the taint in their blood. To become a Warden, you must drink some of their blood."  
"People die from it?"  
"The taint is a monstrous sickness."  
"I wouldn't submit myself to that willingly." The Warden gave her a smirk and Shepard put up a finger, shaking her head. "No conscripting."

Elizabeth laughed, looking back to the fire.

"I'll try to resist."

* * *

"I'd kill you with a single head butt, tough guy."  
"You may try, if you wish."  
"No Wrex, stop!"  
"Sten, no."

Leliana and Liara stepped forward, restraining their friends with desperation. Garrus stepped forward, raising his voice over them.

"Wrex, knock it off. Shepard told us to behave."

The krogan let out a small growl before turning away from the qunari, nodding at Garrus.

"Because I respect Shepard's orders." he replied.  
"Why the fuck are we still here?" Jack asked, looking to Garrus. "We have plenty of technology in that shuttle to get us back up to the relay."  
"Such language for a young woman to use." Wynne said, looking over to the tattooed girl. "Must you be so vulgar?"  
"Who the fuck is this?" Jack scoffed, pointing at the older mage.  
"You know why we're still here." Garrus said over her. "Our Omni tools aren't working, the shuttle is down too. We just have to be patient."  
"Will you guys stop all of the yelling, I have a sodding headache!" the small man grumbled from where he sat.

Garrus looked over to their robotic friend, letting out a sigh.

"I'm going to take a guess that you can't contact the Normandy."  
"I cannot reach Jeff or activate the Normandy's systems." EDI replied.  
"This one is strange. Different from the fleshy things that travel with it." Shale said, standing next to her.

EDI looked over, a pleasant smile on her face.

"I am EDI. I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence."  
"I wouldn't tell them anything about our systems." Miranda said, stepping closer to EDI. "They could try doing something."  
"What do you suppose we will do?" Morrigan asked, looking over at her. "You are all very strange to us. You act as if we are the threat. Fereleden is our home, not yours."  
"Our technology in the wrong hands could be very dangerous." Miranda replied, stepping closer to her.  
"Will you two be fighting now?" Zevran asked, folding his arms across his chest. "There isn't much clothing to rip, though I'm sure it wouldn't be any less enjoyable to watch."

Miranda gave the assassin a bewildered look before Kaidan shook his head.

"Nice." he said before looking to Garrus. "When is Shepard coming back?"  
"She and the other girl-"  
"Elizabeth." Alistair corrected.  
"Sorry." Garrus replied. "She and Elizabeth went to look at the shuttle we came in."  
"How do we know she hasn't killed Shepard?"  
"Elizabeth is a good woman." Wynne told him. "I assure you, she means your leader no harm."  
"We all have to get along until this gets sorted out." Garrus said. "Everyone play nice."  
"I don't want to play." Wrex grumbled, looking over at the qunari.  
"Can't we all just ignore each other if we can't be nice?" Tali asked, stepping closer to Garrus.  
"Listen, we either get along or we don't talk." Garrus ordered. "Everyone calm down."  
"I agree." Alistair said. "Make nice, people."

Garrus let out a sigh as the group seemed to agree, all of them turning to do their own thing. Alistair and Kaidan approached Garrus, both of them looking slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry for the hostility our people have towards yours." Garrus said to the human.  
"They're a bunch of warriors meeting for the first time." Alistair replied, shaking his head as he looked back at them. "It's natural."  
"It's still unnecessary." Kaidan replied.  
"Coming from the man who thinks our leader will kill yours?"  
"It's natural for us to worry. Most people want her dead. We usually stay on her six when she goes somewhere."  
"She's safe with Elizabeth."

Garrus nodded, his mind not easing at the man's words. He idly thought of his bondmate being alone with the obviously able warrior. He swore to the spirits if something happened, he wouldn't stop the team from tearing apart the Warden's camp. For the sake of the small amount of peace between the two squads, he hoped things would go back to normal quickly.

* * *

"I have access to the Normandy."

Shepard snapped her eyes up to EDI, getting to her feet quickly, the rest of the group's attention grabbed at her sudden movements.

"Can you patch me through?"  
"No." EDI said with hesitation. "However, I can control the systems. Jeff must be close to the relay."  
"The council knows we're unreachable. EDI, tell him not to engage that relay, or the Normandy will go offline and crash on this end."  
"Processing." EDI went silent for a moment before looking at Shepard. "I have successfully sent the message."

Shepard let out a short sigh of relief as Elizabeth walked over to her side.

"What is happening?"  
"My ship has found the relay that brought us here." she explained. "They can't come pick us up though, or the ship will crash."  
"A ship? In the sky?"  
"No, not a boat. It's like a… It flies. It's… Hard to explain technology."  
"What will you do now?"

Shepard looked back at her squad mates, letting out a sigh. Garrus stepped forward.

"If we had some way to power our tools, we could fix the shuttle and get up there."  
"Is it magic you require?" Wynne asked.  
"I refuse to lend my magic to help this foolish cause." Morrigan scoffed.  
"As if we wanted your help in the first place." Miranda bit back.

Shepard gave her a stern look.

"Knock it off." she ordered.  
"You'll use your magic for what I tell you to, Morrigan." Elizabeth said. "All of us need to work together."  
"I am here for whatever assistance you need." Wynne told her.  
"Do you dream?" Elizabeth asked Shepard.

Shepard smiled, but shrugged her shoulders.

"What does that have to do with anything?"  
"In our world, when you dream, you enter the Fade."  
"I've never heard of that."  
"I wonder if you'd enter the Fade with magic to aide you."  
"This is an interesting idea." Wynne agreed.  
"If you wish to use blood magic to do so." Morrigan added with a grim tone.  
"Don't act as if you aren't capable." Elizabeth snapped at her before looking back to Shepard. "You could contact your people through dreams."  
"We don't enter your dream world."  
"Not consciously."  
"What?"  
"The only immune race to the Fade is dwarves. If you entered, you could find your people. Inform them of what is happening. They will only interpret this as a dream, but it will be so vivid that they would know something was happening."  
"I can notify Jeff of this plan, Shepard." EDI said. "He could sleep, and you could find him."  
"That could work." Shepard agreed.  
"You wouldn't be going alone." Garrus told her. "There's no way I'd be staying here while you enter some dream land these people have."  
"Garrus." All Shepard had to do was say his name in that stern voice for him to stop his protest. They stared at each other for a moment before he turned away, walking away from the group. Shepard turned back to Elizabeth, nodding. "We'll try it."  
"We'll need time to prepare." Elizabeth said with a nod in return. The group dispersed with murmurs amongst each other as Shepard stared in the direction Garrus had walked. She let out a small sigh, rubbing her forehead. "He means a great deal to you, doesn't he?"

Shepard looked over at her, seeing the small smile on her face.

"We're bonded."  
"You do things together." Elizabeth said with a nod.  
"No, we're bonded. It's a turian thing. It's like marriage."  
"It is very serious then."  
"Yeah."  
"He is angry."  
"He doesn't want me to go alone."

Elizabeth thought for a moment, understanding the need to ensure a loved one is protected.

"Perhaps he could go with you."  
"Turians don't dream."  
"I'm sorry."  
"I'll be fine."  
"You cannot take any weapons into the Fade. It is pure skill and skill alone."

Shepard let out a frustrated groan before snapping her eyes up to meet Elizabeth's.

"Skill?"  
"Yes."  
"As in magic?"  
"Well… Yes."  
"Our Omni tools aren't working here, would they work in the Fade?"  
"I… I don't know."  
"I'm what we call a sentinel. I have biotics, it's like your people's magic. And if my tool is working, I have tech skills."  
"I could not tell you that for certain."  
"Are there dangers in the Fade?"  
"Oh yes. Demons, and shades."  
"Shit."  
"If you have a strong mind, they won't harm you. You will have to fight them off but they won't possess you if you don't let them. It is harder for mages. They are easily possessed."  
"I'll do my best not to come back with a demon in my head."  
"Be warned, demons come in different forms. Hunger, rage, sloth, pride, and even desire. They feed off of these things if they are prominent in a person's mind. You must harden yourself to these. Demons will not seek you out if you are free of these sins."  
"Hunger is a sin?"  
"A demon feeds off of the mortal's physique."

Shepard nodded at her.

"So, clear my head beforehand. Got it."  
"I'd talk with him."  
"Yeah?"

Elizabeth looked out at the camp before letting out a sigh, looking back to her.

"What if it was the last time you spoke to him?"  
"I've had some pretty close calls…" Shepard said, rubbing the back of her neck.  
"I'm sure things were very different from this." Elizabeth countered.

Shepard nodded.

"I'll talk to him."

* * *

"They've been over there a while."  
"Give them time."  
"We're wasting time."

The group of companions sat around the fire, all of them periodically glancing over to where Shepard sat with Garrus by the broken down shuttle. Tali let out a sigh.

"I want to go home."  
"How's your suit acting?" Kaidan asked.  
"It's fine."  
"I'm surprised your technology carried over." Wynne noted.  
"Our armor is working fine." Tali replied. "It's just our tools that aren't up to speed."  
"You keep saying tools as if we know what that means." Morrigan said. "What are these tools?"  
"They're a part of us. Everyone has an Omni tool." Miranda replied, sitting next to her. "We all have tool numbers to identify ourselves. It's how we connect to everything, really."  
"That seems very adequate." Morrigan admitted.  
"It is." Miranda said with a smile.  
"This food is very inadequate." Wrex said, tossing his bowl to the side after finishing his soup.  
"We need proper meat before a battle such as this." Sten agreed.  
"What he said." Wrex grunted with a nod in his direction.  
"Good to see everyone is calming down around each other." Alistair noted.  
"I'm still getting a language lesson from this bi… Woman." Jack said, biting her tongue as she indicated the older mage.  
"I'm glad someone could give you a lesson or two." Liara said.  
"The stars are out. Does anyone know the story of that cluster of stars right there?" Leliana asked, pointing up at the sky.  
"They're stars, they didn't get there because of a woman crying." Liara replied, putting a hand over her face as she shook her head.  
"It's a good story, Liara. I don't know why you can't enjoy them."  
"Please stop talking." Morrigan told the Bard.  
"There's a story about the millions of stars in our galaxy?" Kaidan asked.  
"There are stories about a lot of things." Leliana replied eagerly.

Elizabeth smiled as the two groups interacted together as a whole, glancing over to Shepard as she walked back with Garrus following her. Elizabeth stood, giving her a small smile.

"Everything ok?"  
"I'm going into the Fade alone." Shepard replied. "My team will stay here with you, under your command."

She gave her crew a stern look before nodding at Garrus.

"He's my second in command. If you can't get them to listen to you, he can do it."  
"Thank you." Elizabeth replied.  
"Alright. Let's do it." Shepard said.

The group got to their feet, making room in the camp for Morrigan and Wynne to create a circle of magic, encasing Shepard in a white light before she closed her eyes, feeling herself leaving the world she was in. When she opened her eyes again, all she could see was a blurred, strange land. She took a deep breath, letting her biotics flare before sending them across the void, happy that it worked. She raised her arm, disappointed that her tool still wasn't working. She took another deep breath, stepping forward. She could hear faint voices around her, though none of them were coherent. It took her some time before she found Joker. He sat in a pilot's chair, talking to a very realistic looking EDI, who sat next to him. Shepard approached him, slightly confused as to why she was there if she wasn't dreaming. He smiled up at the commander, clearly surprised.

"Commander. Long time no see."  
"Joker, can you understand me?"  
"Well yeah." he laughed.  
"When you wake up, I need you to tell the council to send engineers through that relay, our shuttle is down."  
"What?"  
"Our shuttle is down, and so are our tools. We need engineers."  
"You're kinda talking crazy, Shepard."  
"Joker, when you wake up-"  
"Wake up? I'm awake."  
"This is a dream, it's called the Fade. I'll explain it later, you have to focus."  
"You're really freaking me out." he said, standing up with ease.  
"You wouldn't be standing if this wasn't a dream."  
"That's not nice." he said with a frown.  
"We should return to flying the ship, Jeff." EDI said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
"I gotta get back to work, Shepard."  
"That's not EDI." the Commander replied, shaking her head as Elizabeth's words about demons returned to her mind. "EDI is with us, remember? She called you."

Joker knitted his eyebrows at her, shaking his head.

"I remember, but… No. That can't be right…"  
"Joker, this is a dream."  
"Jeff." EDI said, trying to get his attention once more.

He stared at the woman before looking back to Shepard.

"Prove it."  
"Prove what?"  
"That this is a dream."

Shepard groaned, looking around as if she'd find something before she looked back to him.

"Sorry." she said.  
"For what?" She balled her fist, punching him in the arm. "Hey!"  
"That's how I prove it. Your arm isn't broken."

He rubbed the spot before something inside of him seemed to click.

"You're right…" Shepard didn't hesitate to throw her biotics at the demon as it changed from the form of EDI to the form of something Shepard had never seen before. It tried attacking in return, but Shepard allowed all of her biotics to flare, not allowing it to get any damage in before she felt a headache coming on. She leaned against Joker for a moment after the demon left, taking a few deep breaths. "You ok? That was insane!"  
"Listen, you have to get the engineers from the council." Shepard told him with a strained voice.  
"I got it."  
"Tell them to send a shuttle. Any ship would crash. A shuttle." she panted.  
"Alright, I've got it commander."  
"I have to go back."  
"This is so trippy."  
"Don't come through that relay, Joker." she said sternly, straightening up slightly.  
"I swear."

Shepard let go of him, feeling herself being pulled from the world.

* * *

It didn't take long for the engineers to get to them, though they had two shuttles to fix after arriving. Shepard's team helped as much as they could without their Omni tools working. Shepard was happy they were going home soon, though she felt quite sad that she would no longer see the people they'd gotten to know.

"All of this time you've been here, that wonder has stuck in my mind."

Shepard looked over to Elizabeth with a smile.

"What wonder?"  
"If you'd survive the Joining…"  
"I survived your magic land, I feel like a little blood wouldn't hurt much."

Elizabeth smiled.

"You'd be surprised."

Shepard let out a sigh, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"Fine. Put me through it."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you serious?"  
"I would very confidently put any of my teammates through your ritual."

Alistair laughed from behind them, taking a few steps closer.

"That'd I'd love to see."  
"I know for a fact not everyone would make it."  
"Fine. We'll stick with me then."  
"You really want to do this?" Alistair asked.  
"Let's do it." Shepard said with a shrug.

Elizabeth and Alistair prepared the darkspawn blood momentarily, allowing Shepard to think about what was to come. Garrus joined her, knowing she was doing something dangerous.

"What exactly does this ritual consist of?"  
"Drink a little blood."  
"That's it?"  
"I suppose it's tainted blood, but I'll be fine."  
"Are you insane?"  
"I've tasted your blood before, that was fine."  
"I'm not a monster."  
"A few would argue." she teased, nudging him. "I'll be alright."

Garrus let out a sigh, sinking into a hip.

"You're not going to listen to me, are you?"  
"Nope."  
"Fine."

Shepard smiled as the group joined them once Elizabeth and Alistair were ready to start the ritual. Elizabeth held the goblet, stepping towards Shepard.

"Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and one day, we shall join you." Shepard watched as Alistair nodded, as if in agreement to the words before Elizabeth stepped closer to her. "These words start a Joining. They are said before every ritual, for the ones that don't make it. Commander, step forward."

Shepard took the goblet looking down at the swirling liquid before letting out a short breath. She tipped it up, taking a large gulp and crinkling her nose at the taste. She forced herself to swallow, closing her eyes as it burned down her throat. Elizabeth took the goblet back, watching her intently. Shepard let out a short cough before nodding.

"Wow." she said, looking at her. "That was…"

She felt her body whole body heat up, her mind in an immediate headache. She held her head in her hands for a moment, feeling Garrus helping her to stay on her feet. She opened her eyes, hearing the gasps of her teammates before their noises were blocked out by the sound of a large roar, her visions clouded to only see the image of a furious dragon amongst a large hoard of monsters. It was as if the dragon was speaking to them. It would roar, and the monsters would make noises in return, as if it was giving a speech before a large battle. This went on for a while before her vision returned. She was laying on the ground, looking up at the stars. She knitted her eyebrows, looking around the camp. Her team rushed to her, Garrus the first to reach her.

"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah." she said, her throat very hoarse. "I need water."

Elizabeth was at her side quickly, handing her a canteen to drink from.

"How do you feel?" she asked.  
"A little shaken up…"  
"I remember the feeling."  
"What happened to me?"  
"Your eyes went white." Garrus told her. "You passed out pretty quick."  
"I imagine your biotics gave you an upper hand at surviving, Shepard." Miranda said.  
"It'd burn the taint off, wouldn't it?" Jack asked.  
"In time, maybe. Not right away." Miranda replied.

Shepard let out a breath, not caring to listen to her team banter about what had happened. Elizabeth pulled out a necklace with a small vial pendant on it, handing it to her.

"This is a little bit of the blood you drank from. Every Warden gets one after surviving the Joining. A little thing to remember those who didn't make it. No one else tried it, in your case but, you are a Grey Warden… You get one."

Shepard smiled at the gesture, looking down at the little piece of jewelry.

"Thanks." she said. "I'll keep it safe."  
"Another thing is, your sky-boats are ready."

Shepard smiled again at her words, getting to her feet. Watching the two teams say goodbye to each other was slightly difficult for Shepard. They had learned to deal with each other in the short time they'd been forced to be around new species, and new friendships had been formed. After exchanging many goodbyes, Elizabeth walked Shepard and her team over to the shuttles, the engineers ready to leave in their own. Shepard turned to her as her team loaded into the shuttle.

"If you get your relays working well enough and you get the chance to return, I would love a visit." Elizabeth said with a smile. "It's sad to see you go."  
"It's an honor to be a part of your order. Thank you for all your help."  
"I would do it again."  
"If we get those relays working right, I'll come back and take you to my era. We'll get you a spectre title."  
"Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

Shepard smiled, pointing at her.

"You've got it!"  
"I do."

The two of them laughed together briefly before Elizabeth hugged her. Shepard returned it, happy to have made such a friend from a crazy situation.

"I hope your Blight is ended quickly."  
"Ferelden is strong. We won't back down easily."  
"That's what I like to hear."

The shuttle started up behind Shepard, making her glance back.

"You ready, Commander?"

Shepard looked back to Elizabeth, both of them exchanging smiles once more.

"Goodbye."  
"Goodbye, Commander."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys!**

**Because of popular demand, I have decided to write another little chapter for this. I have a bit of a story idea up my sleeve, and I will be coming back to this at a later time, but if you would like to see more of Shepard and the Warden together, feel free to leave your reviews or send me a PM. I have hopes to use these characters again.**

**Thank you all for your interest in this, I wasn't expecting the feedback that I did get from it. It means alot guys.**

* * *

Elizabeth sighed, listening to the complaints of her companions behind her. It wasn't her choice to hike up this snowy mountain. It wasn't her idea to go looking for the ridiculous myth of the ashes of Andraste. She rolled her eyes at herself for about the fifteenth time in the past five minutes, all of her body begging to get somewhere warm. The man they followed, Brother Genitivi, seemed very unfit to be leading them to the Urn after the torture he'd been subjected to but Elizabeth knew it was the man's lifelong dream to find it and she wouldn't be the one to tell him no.

He coughed up ahead of her, making her watch him for a moment as they continued to hike. She let out another sigh before feeling a nudge on her arm.

"I've stood by you through all of the crazy things you've accomplished to prepare for this Blight, but I'm not so sure about this one."

She gave her elven friend a small smile.

"I'm pretty skeptical myself, but it's worth a shot. Arl Eamon isn't going to be healed any other way. We have to try."  
"I admire your dedication to the job, my Warden. I just hope it's not for nothing."

Elizabeth was grateful for the companionship she'd found in Zevran. The rest of the camp found it odd that they had what they had, but it didn't stop them. There was a Blight going on; they'd take their pleasures where they could.

"I just wish the Commander was still here. I'm sure she'd have something useful to add to all of this."  
"I wish she was too. Lovely thing, she is."

Elizabeth shot a glare at him as he let out a small laugh. She shook her head, hating how he could trigger the jealousy in her so easily.

"I found it! I found the door!" Genitivi yelled from up ahead.

Elizabeth was grateful they would get to warm themselves up for a short time. She was sure there would be fighting of some sort in the temple. There was always a fight waiting for her. Sure enough, after delving into the temple and working through the tunnels, they had to take out an entire cult. There was never a dull moment for them.

* * *

Upon entering the temple where the ashes were said to be, Elizabeth found a guardian blocking the door. He spoke of them proving themselves worthy of visiting the ashes and taking a pinch for the Arl, then spoke of each of her companions' past, including her own. She was starting to regret not bringing her entire team in the temple, as they were all made aware they'd be put through tests of faith to get to the urn. Still, she knew the people behind her would prove to be enough. They always did.

"What do you think we'll find in here?" Zevran asked as they walked through the first set of doors.

Elizabeth shrugged as they walked through the first set of doors to see eight ghostly figures standing in the room. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and looked over at him.

"You just had to ask."

He smiled at her before they started their journey. Elizabeth was glad it was a game of riddles. She'd always been good at them. She idly wondered what would happen if she answered a riddle incorrectly, but she was grateful that she didn't have to find out. They were able to pass through the room without great trouble, though they were unsure what to do once they got to the next room. Elizabeth stared at the thing in front of them. It was something she'd never seen before. The shape was something she couldn't describe, though it wasn't what had her attention. What caught her eye the most was the spinning pieces in the center. A small light glowed there, drawing her in as her curiosity got the best of her.

"No, don't." Zevran said, grabbing for her arm as she stepped closer.  
"This has to be a part of the test." she replied, looking back at them. "Wynne do you know anything of this?"  
"It's a form of magic I have never seen."  
"Shale?"

The golem that was with them had been silent through the journey, but she scoffed now.

"Am I _supposed_ to know something about it?"

Elizabeth let out a sigh, turning back toward it. She felt herself being pulled, though her feet remained on the ground.

"It is strange." Wynne said.  
"Do you feel that?"

Elizabeth looked to Zevran as he got closer.

"I do." she said, watching him.

Wynne moved with him. Elizabeth knit her eyebrows as they both reached out, brushing their hands across the object. The thing made a loud noise before they were gone, without a trace that they were ever there. Elizabeth's heart started to race as she looked back to Shale, then ran towards it. Shale followed her lead, both of them being transported through the contraption.

* * *

"Warden! It would be wise for it to get up!"

Elizabeth opened her eyes at the sound of Shale's voice urging her to wake. She looked around, catching her breath at the sight of her companions being attacked. Shale ran towards them for aid, not waiting for Elizabeth to get to her feet. It didn't take her long to rush to them, swinging her large sword at the man who stepped forward to point his weapon at Wynne.

"Back off!" Elizabeth yelled as her group formed into a circle, ready to fight the obviously more advanced team. She knit her eyebrows at the man who opposed her, then shook her head slightly. "I know you."  
"What?"  
"Your kind, I know you."

The alien in front of her glanced at his partners, then shook his head.

"You're on turian military ground. Give me an excuse not to shoot."  
"Allow me to speak with your commander, I will get this worked out."  
"Commander?"  
"Commander Shepard."

The alien laughed, his partners doing the same.

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought. Shepard isn't around here. This is Palaven."  
"Please, she knows me."  
"I'm sure she does."  
"If you just let me speak with her-"

The turian groaned as he opened his Omni tool, contacting his own commander.

"Gonna need to take these guys in. Their squad leader insists on talking with Commander Shepard."

Elizabeth stood down, putting her sword away as her companions followed suit. They went willingly with the men, but she was surprised to be put in a holding cell.

"We had an agreemen-"  
"We'll get you the Commander, and we'll get answers as to why you're on our base without authorization. We'll let the human deal with you."

Elizabeth let out a sigh as he walked away. She looked around at her team.

"Everyone alright?"  
"Nothing but a few scrapes from the landing." Wynne replied.  
"Same." Zevran said.  
"Fleshy things." Shale scoffed.

Elizabeth smiled at them, thankful that they were alright.

* * *

It'd been a long day for Shepard. First she had to deal with the council and now she was on an emergency trip to Palaven? She didn't know who it was demanding her attention, and she didn't quite care up until the point of the turians telling her said person had generated a force field to keep the turians away from them. It wouldn't have been odd to Shepard if the force field hadn't shut down all forms of technology around it. She remembered very clearly remembered her technology shutting down when her team had gone through a dormant mass relay. The turians described the force field to be something they'd never before seen. Shepard knew exactly what it was.

So now she was docking on Palaven, her crew in tow for back up. She hoped whatever type of magic that had been conjured here from Ferelden wasn't going to be harmful. Or that the person behind it wasn't a threat. It was quite possible they were putting up a shield out of fear. It was also possible the mass relays had been activated and people were finding their way through to other systems from Thedas. Shepard let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't really fight against magic with bullets. Bitotics were similar to mages, and though they were strong, they still were no match for magic.

She prepared herself for what she'd see once directed to the corridor where the mage was holding itself. The turian primarch in front of her seemed quite anxious for her to sort it out. Victus had been somewhat of a partner to her during the Reaper war, but he'd since turned back to his business on his home planet while Shepard did what she had to do for the council. It was nice to see an old face.

"The woman seems quite old, but she's holding up her barrier without a problem."  
"Do you have a name?"  
"They broke out of their cell within minutes of us locking them up. They don't seem to know much about our technology but that man still picked through that lock quicker than I've seen in my life."  
"There are two of them?"  
"Four including the biotic."

Shepard let out a sigh, looking back to her team.

"It's people from Thedas, isn't it?" Garrus said.  
"It seems strange that they would be here." EDI noted. "They didn't know what a Mass Relay was when we were there."

Shepard shrugged, looking back to Victus.

"We'll scope it out."  
"You have my support in what you choose to do with them. If you can catch them, that is."

Shepard gave him a nod before turning down the corridor. She drew her gun, looking back at her team mates to ensure they were ready before she turned around the corner. The barrier was quite large, reaching up to the ceiling to protect the four people on the other side. Shepard let her gun drop to her side once she saw their faces, giving the familiar-looking Warden in front of her a smile.

"What're you doing here?"

Elizabeth smiled in return as Wynne dropped her barrier.

"I was hoping you'd help me figure that out."

They shook hands for a moment before Shepard let her smile fade from her face.

"How did you get here?"  
"We were looking at a strange object before we were transported here. We do not have an explanation."  
"Did it look like this?" Shepard asked, pulling up her Omni tool to show the Warden a hologram of a mass relay.  
"Yes, that's it."  
"You guys found a relay in your world."  
"How do we get back?"  
"We need to find where yours is on our grids and then send you back through one of ours."  
"Sounds easy enough."  
"Except everything there is inactive, Shepard." Garrus noted. "You can't send them back."  
"If they were sent through it, it's active."  
"I hope we don't need to make a trip to the Fade again…" Wynne said, rubbing her head. "We don't have enough mages. Or Lyrium."  
"No Fade." Shepard agreed.  
"Right. So pinpointing the relay should be a trick." Garrus said.  
"I will start scanning immediately, Shepard." EDI announced.  
"Let's head back to the Normandy so the Primarch can get the military base back in order."

* * *

"Have you stopped your Blight yet?"

Elizabeth looked up at the Commander as she approached her in the mess hall. The Warden shook her head.

"No."  
"You need me to come help?"

Elizabeth smiled at her, looking up from the hot drink she'd been given.

"We have impossible tasks in front of us. One small sliver of chance, and we don't even know if it will work."  
"I know the feeling."  
"Do you?"  
"It was hard winning the war a few years back. It seemed impossible at the time but… We did it."  
"I cannot wait to be able to say that it is over."  
"It's a weight off the shoulders, believe me."  
"Few things keep our team positive these days." the Warden said, looking around at the few people in the mess hall.

Shepard smirked as she followed her line of sight.

"I'm guessing your friend is one of those few things."

Elizabeth looked back to her, shaking her head with a smile.

"Zev and I are friends."  
"Spare me that little act."  
"How is Garrus these days?"  
"Oh he's fine."

The two women exchanged smiles, a small recognition for the other's personal life. Silence hung between them for a few moments before Elizabeth looked up at her with a serious tone.

"Do you think we'll make it back to Thedas?"  
"I know you will." Shepard replied, giving her a soft nod. "EDI will find the right relay."

Elizabeth seemed reassured by this, but Shepard knew it could end up being a while before they found anything, if they found it at all.

* * *

"What if we don't make it back?"  
"Why wouldn't we?"  
"This is a world we don't know anything about. We know the Commander and her friends, but…"

Elizabeth rolled over to her side to look up at Zevran.

"But what?"  
"There is still a Blight going on. None of our companions know we are gone."  
"How about you just let me worry about getting us back. You worry about keeping me company." Zevran gave her a smile as he tightened his arm around her. " Besides, it was simple enough for them to get back from Thedas. It should be just as simple getting us back to where we belong."  
"I will stop worrying, my dear."  
"Thank you."

They were silent for a few moments, both of them enjoying the quiet of the room they'd been given for the night. Just as Elizabeth closed her eyes, Zevran let out a sigh. She sighed in return, glancing up at him.

"Zev, quit."  
"I'm sorry."  
"I worry too. I know it's our home but there's nothing we can do… Just trust me and let Shepard do her job."  
"Fine."

Elizabeth smiled faintly as sleep claimed her and she closed her eyes to welcome it.

* * *

"I have detected the relay that we passed through before, Commander." EDI announced, drawing Shepard and Elizabeth to the large galaxy map in the CIC.  
"Set a course, EDI. Good work."  
"Will we be able to pass through it?" Elizabeth asked. "Your air boats lost power last time."  
"We're going to send you in pods. If there is a relay in Ferelden, you'll come out of it."  
"Is it safe?" Zevran asked.  
"It's as safe as I can give you."  
"Commander, if we're making a drop we should do it now." Joker voice said in the overcom.

The Normandy's lights dimmed slightly as they neared the relay, causing concern to run through the Commander's mind.

"Joker, what was that?"  
"Something's going on in the Sol System. Something big."  
"Patch me through to Admiral Hacket."  
"Yes m'am."

Elizabeth followed the Commander to the com room where she was connected to a holo image of her Admiral.

"Something you need Commander?"  
"What's going on in the Sol System?"  
"Everything's fine here, Shepard."

She knit her eyebrows as she looked over at Elizabeth, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you sure? Joker's readings say something big just happened. It interfered with the Normandy's systems as we passed the relay."

Hacket's image turned away for a moment before he faced her again. He shrugged.

"I don't have any readings on my end."  
"Keep an eye out sir."  
"Will do, Commander, thanks for the heads up."

Shepard found it difficult to pry her mind from the concern for her home planet as she and Elizabeth made it to the escape pods she'd be taking back to Thedas.

"It was nice seeing you again." Elizabeth told her.  
"I feel we have good chances of running into each other again."  
"Your way of life is so strange to me, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of it."  
"I wouldn't mind more of yours either."

Shepard offered her hand to the Warden, but Elizabeth hugged her instead. They exchanged smiles before she got into the pod.

"Ready to be home?" Zevran asked as the Warden sat down and buckled in next to him.  
"Ready." she replied, letting out a small sigh.

Within a few moments, the pod shook and released them from the Normandy. Again it shook as they were flung through the relay to feel the thing jumble to a stop on the other side.

* * *

"Commander, urgent message from Admiral Hacket."

Shepard let out a groan as she sat up in bed. The turian next to her simply rolled over to continue sleeping as she got to her feet.

"Patch me through." She put a jacket on over the tank top she'd already been wearing and threw on some pants. She made her way down to the com room as quickly as she could just to find a man she'd never seen before in her life. She knit her eyebrows and folded her arms. "How did you get this channel? Where is the Admiral?"  
"I have limited time to talk, so listen carefully. We need you down here on Earth, and we need you now."  
"I don't take orders from you."  
"This is bigger than rank in the military."  
"This about that anomaly we warned Hacket about earlier?"  
"It was a wormhole. Leads to other dimensions."  
"I'm guessing you want me to go through it?"  
"I want you to come speak with me."  
"Where?"  
"Come home, Juliet. We'll be waiting."

Shepard stared at the holo image as it disconnected. She knew what he meant by home. Her parts of Earth hadn't been rebuilt since the Reaper war. It was too small of a town. The Alliance was focused on rebuilding the major cities first. She understood, and so did most others, but she didn't understand why the man was asking her to go there. Who would be waiting? What did he want to discuss? She was a council spectre, he couldn't possibly be offering a job. Maybe he needed help.

A wormhole in space? Shepard had heard of myths from several of the other species humanity had come to know, and she knew little to nothing about humanity's own, but she knew most mythology came from other dimensions. Old stories to tell to kids at night. She shook her head at herself. The loophole would most likely lead to Thedas. Perhaps Elizabeth had created some tear in space.

Then it struck her. He knew her name. Around the galaxy, most didn't. She'd been called Commander or Shepard since she became known around the galaxy. Few really knew her first name, save for the ones close to her. Most of her crew simply called her Shepard because it didn't matter what her first name was. She was the Commander. But this man knew. She let out a sigh, knowing Joker was waiting for orders as she stood there in silence.

"Plot a course to Earth."  
"Yes m'am."


End file.
